What a Girl Wants
by Lola Estheim
Summary: Serah only wants one thing: a baby. And Snow won't give her one.
1. Chapter 1

003 AF

It'd been three years since the fall of Cocoon and since then she'd been living peacefully in the town of New Bodhum on Pulse. Three years and Snow and Serah weren't married. She loved him so much and it hurt her for him to be away for so long. He'd been away for almost a year.

Then the night Noel Kreiss strangely appeared in New Bodhum and the chaos was over, Snow came back. She ran into his arms and told him how much she missed him.

"Did you find Lightning?" she asked, looking into her fiancée's eyes. He shook his head no. Her heart dropped. She wanted her sister back.

"It's okay," Snow reassured her. "I'm going to leave in a couple days so that I can start looking for her again." Serah nodded and left the bedroom.

"Hey boss," said Maqui.

"So is anyone gonna tell me what the hell happened?" Snow asked.

"Well there was this meteor and then a whole bunch of monsters sort of showed up. Weird things happened… Like part of New Bodhum was in the future. Does that make sense?" Lebreau said.

"No. Not really," Snow said and looked at Noel, who was quietly sitting on the couch. "And who's this guy?" Noel rose and came forward to Snow.

"My name's Noel," he said, pointing at his chest. "Noel Kreiss." Serah wondered if she should believe him. All those things he said about Lightning being in a place called Valhalla. Deep down inside she did believe him. She felt like she could trust him. And why would he make any of that up? How would he even know that Lightning was her sister in the first place? He had to be from the future. He just had to be.

Then he and Snow went outside to talk, probably about the meteor. Serah was exhausted, so she took a shower and got ready for bed. As soon as she closed her eyes, Snow joined her. "Hey there, beautiful," Snow said, gently kissing her neck. Serah smiled and responded with a kiss on his lips. She took off his shirt, revealing his very muscular torso. "What are you doing?" he whispered in her ear.

"It's been a year, hasn't it?" Serah said and continued kissing him. Snow nodded and took Serah's shirt off as well. He pulled off Serah's pajama pants and panties. She was completely naked and Snow was down to his boxers. She looked so perfect and she was all Snow's. He reached for a condom in the drawer. Serah shook her head and giggled. Then she sat on top of him and kissed him some more. Then she whispered in his ear, "I want a baby, Snow."

"A baby? I don't think we're ready for a baby, Serah."

"Why not? Every time I bring up having a baby, you always brush it off. "

"Look, Serah," he said, sitting upright. "We can talk about this later."

"You always say that. It _is_ later, Snow."

"I don't want any kids, Serah."

"So I'm just supposed to stay with you? You don't even want the things I want," Serah said, clutching her engagement pendant. She removed it and put it in his hand. "I can't do this anymore." She started crying.

"Serah… Please. Don't do this," Snow said desperately.

"Get out!" Serah screamed. He didn't say a word. He picked up his clothes and quietly dressed in the corner before leaving the room, shutting the door behind him. Serah didn't bother to put her clothes back on. She was too upset. She took the condom and threw it across the room in frustration. It was over between her and Snow. If Snow wouldn't give her a baby, someone else would. She just had to figure out _who_ that someone would be.

She loved Snow so much. She didn't want to break up, but how could she live the rest of her life with him if they didn't want the same things? How could you be with someone like that? She'd live the rest of her life without hearing the words, "I love you mommy." She wanted that badly.

The next morning she decided that she would go away with Noel, traveling through space and time to find Lightning. She'd know what to do. She never really liked Snow anyway. "So you're leaving me to go with _this_ guy?" Snow demanded, running toward the time gate with the rest of NORA.

Serah nodded. "Yes. I am," she replied.

"You sure about this?" Noel asked. Serah nodded. She looked back at Snow one last time and stepped into the time gate with Noel, holding onto his arm.


	2. Chapter 2

010 AF

After what seemed like a few days traveling, Noel and Serah got to Yascha Massif. Noel and Serah got to know each other much better. He told her more about his mysterious past, while she told him all about being a l'Cie. Noel was very protective of her. Any time they came in contact with danger, he'd protect her even though she could hold her own.

Serah saw someone in the distance. It was a guy and he looked all too familiar. Hope. It was Hope Estheim. She hadn't seen him since Cocoon fell. It'd been ten years. He had to be about 24 now. Serah, herself, would be 28 in this time. She was so excited. She started running toward him, but some guards cut her off.

"It's okay. I know them," Hope said, coming toward her and Noel. The guards let up and Serah ran to hug Hope. Her hug startled him, but he returned the friendly embrace. She let him go and then introduced Noel to him. They shook hands. Noel seemed intimidated, for whatever reason.

A blonde girl showed up at Hope's side. "I'm Alyssa, Mr. Estheim's assistant," she said, shaking both her and Noel's hands.

"Alyssa, why don't you show Noel around some?" The blonde nodded and pulled Noel away into the building. Hope led Serah into a different part of the building.

"So how are you, Hope?" Serah asked as they walked through a hallway.

"I'm fine. I run this place. I'm a scientist. I run the Academy. It's a big research project. What about you? How have you been?" He led them into a sitting room and motioned for her to have a seat. She sat in the loveseat.

"I'm a teacher. I live in New Bodhum. Me and Noel are traveling through time to find Lightning."

"I hope you find her," Hope said and smiled.

"Have you seen any of the others? Sazh? Snow? "

"Unfortunately, no. I haven't heard from anyone in a long time. I'm glad you're here, Serah. At least I have someone I can talk to." Serah blushed a little.

"You've changed a lot, Hope. I'm proud of you," Serah said.

"Yeah. I'm much braver and more responsible than I was before. No longer whiny and scared all of the time," Hope said. "I think you're sister had a huge influence on me, Light."

"Same here. The kids I teach sometimes call me 'Meanie Miss Farron.'"

"I never would've thought sweet Serah could ever be mean." Serah smiled when he called her sweet. Hope was so kind. He was everything that Snow wasn't. Hope was gentle. Snow was rough. Hope was so much different.

"You and Noel can stay here until you're ready to go."

"Really? Thanks Hope. That means a lot." Only Serah wasn't sure she wanted to leave. She felt so comfortable around Hope. It seems like just yesterday that Hope was a small and innocent teenager. He'd gotten _very_ attractive. She could tell why that Alyssa girl was so helpful earlier. Was she starting to fall for him?

"Goodnight, Serah," Noel said, before closing the door to the guest room. "Maybe we could find the artefact tomorrow." Right. The artefact… She kind of hoped that they wouldn't find it. It'd give them a reason to stay longer.

When Noel closed the door, she felt overcome with sadness. She missed Snow, she had to admit. She never wanted to leave him, but she had to. Tears started falling down her cheeks again. She found herself walking to Hope's room. She knocked on the door softly. Hope came to the door and opened it. He frowned when he saw Serah. "Come in. What's wrong?" he asked. Serah sat at the foot of his bed and crossed her legs.

"Snow and I broke up," she said. She wiped her tears and Hope sat down next to her.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Hope said sincerely. "Is there anything I can do?" Serah shook her head no. Hope didn't say anything for a long time, but she could feel him looking at her. "Do you want to stay with me tonight?"

Serah smiled and nodded. Hope motioned for her to make herself comfortable, while he went in the bathroom to change into his pajamas. He returned to the bedroom, turned out the light and climbed into bed. He carefully set enough space between them and closed his eyes.

"Hope?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks," she said. She turned over to face him. His grey eyes were open now. "I really didn't want to be alone tonight."

"You're welcome," Hope said and leaned in to kiss her cheek. Then Serah held his face and kissed him. He kissed back. His mouth was warm and inviting. The kiss felt right. When they pulled apart, Hope smiled. "I always liked you, you know?"

"Really?"

"Yeah. Since I was fourteen. And I spent ten years wondering if I'd ever see you again. Ten years wondering if when I did, you'd still be with Snow… Ten years wondering if you and I could be together… Ten years wondering if you'd like me back."

"I do like you."

"How old are you?"

"Twenty one. Well, in this time, I'd be twenty eight."

"I guess that makes you a cougar, huh?"

"I guess so," Serah said and kissed him again. There was hunger in the kiss. A want for more. Serah unbuttoned his pajama shirt and kissed him on his chest. He ran his fingers through her hair and kissed her some more.

"I don't think we should go too far," Hope said, breaking the kiss.

"You're right. At least, not yet," Serah winked.


	3. Chapter 3

010 AF

Serah woke up the next morning with a yawn. She sat up to find that Hope was no longer next to her. She heard the shower water turn off in the bathroom. Out emerged Hope in his burgundy towel. Hope was a little pale. There wasn't much sun in Yaschas Massif since the eclipse had taken over the ruins of Paddra. She smiled at the sight of him. He returned the smile and walked over to kiss her softly.

"I should go," Serah said.

"I'll see you for breakfast," Hope said. "I'm cooking."

"You can cook?"

"Well when I'm not experimenting on matters of science, I experiment in the kitchen." Serah smiled and nodded at him. Then she opened the door, creeping out into the hallway. _Shit_, she thought as she ran into Noel in the hallway.

"Hey, Serah. I just went to your room to say good morning, but you weren't there," Noel said. "Did you just come out of Hope's room?"

"Oh. Um, yeah. I was just… Talking to um… him about breakfast," Serah stammered, tripping over her own words.

"Why are you acting so nervous? Like you're hiding something," Noel said, raising his dark brown eyebrows.

"I'm not hiding anything," Serah said. "I'm fine, Noel. Get dressed. Hope says he's cooking.

Serah spent the next week or so procrastinating and not really putting in much of an effort to find the artefact. She could tell Noel was getting annoyed. Was he catching on? She didn't want to find the artefact. That would mean moving on and leaving Hope behind. She liked him a lot. She never felt the way she did with Hope.

Hope made it a point to tell her how beautiful she was every single day. She spent every night with him, sneaking out before Noel woke up in the morning and questioned her. She didn't know why they were sneaking around exactly. It wasn't that big of a deal. How would Noel take it? What if Snow found out? What would he do? Surely he'd want to attack Hope.

She brushed the thought of Snow out of her head. She hoped that Hope didn't think that she came on to him because she had a bad breakup. That's not what it was. She liked him. And he liked her back. She wondered what would've happened if she never accepted Snow's proposal. What then?

Noel noticed that something had changed about Serah. Ever since they got here, she'd been acting really weird. He was determined to figure out what it was. One night around eleven, he went to say good night to Serah. Afterward, he hid around the corner waiting to see if Serah came out so that he could follow her and catch her in the act himself. Sure enough, Serah crept out of her room and tiptoed in Noel's direction. He expected her to continue down the hallway, but she stopped at Hope's door. She knocked and Hope came to the door. They embraced and then had a brief makeout session before closing the door behind them.

Noel couldn't believe what he'd just seen. No wonder she'd been acting weird for the past week and a half. It explained a lot. Why she stuttered so much when he only asked a simple question, why they hadn't found the artefact, everything… He didn't know much about Hope. He didn't know much about their relationship prior to their visit. Hope seemed kinder than Snow. He preferred Serah to be with Hope that to be with that short tempered asshole of a guy.

He didn't know much about Snow either. But from what he knew, he didn't think that he deserved Serah. He and Serah had only recently met, but they were close. But obviously not close enough for her to tell him about her new relationship with Hope.

"So why'd you and Snow break up anyway? I never thought anything would tear you two apart," Hope said as Serah lay in his arms.

"I broke up with him because we didn't want the same things," Serah replied.

"That's it?"

"Well we got into a pretty bad argument because, well… I wanted a baby. I still do. And he said that he doesn't want one."

"That's not really fair, is it? I mean, what if it happened anyway? What would he have done? Left you?"

"I don't know…"

"You want a baby that bad, huh?"

"I think so. It's just that having a baby is one of the most beautiful things the world has to offer."

"I agree with you. I want a child or two some day," Hope said. "Maybe with you."

That made Serah smile. The thought of leaving Hope here made her sad. She started crying at the thought. Hope frowned and lifted her chin up. He looked into her eyes and asked her what was wrong.

"It's just… when we find the artefact, Noel and me will move on and leave this place. And leave _you_."

"You don't have to leave for good. You can come back if you wanted to, right? Or I could come with you."

"Come with me? What about the Academy? All your hard work?"

"I can continue my research no matter where we are. As long as I'm with you, I wouldn't mind. I want to be with you, Serah."

"I want to be with you too, Hope," said Serah. Her face broke out into a huge grin. "Can we be together?"

"Yes."


	4. Chapter 4

010 AF

The following morning, Noel and Serah went looking for the artefact. Noel wanted to ask Serah about Hope, but he wasn't sure when to bring it up. After arguing back and forth with himself, he decided he'd be better off being blunt about it. "So when were you gonna tell me?" Noel asked quietly, as they walked through a bed of flowers.

"Tell you what?" Serah asked innocently, as if she didn't know herself.

"That you and Hope are seeing each other," Noel said. "You could've just told me instead of sneaking around. You could've just said something instead of procrastinating and not even making an attempt to find the artefact. I thought we were friends."

"We _are_ friends, Noel. I just didn't want you to judge me. I mean, I just broke up with Snow. It probably seems like I'm some slut."

"You're not, Serah. You're far from one," Noel said. Then asked, "Are you happy?"

"I've almost never been happier," she replied. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."

"I'm not mad. So what happens when we find the artefact?"

"I guess we leave and move on to another time."

"You sure? You can stay here if you want."

Serah considered it. She really wanted to stay. She didn't want to leave Hope behind. "It's okay, Noel. I'll go with you. But only if we can stay an extra week."

"Deal," Noel said and shook Serah's hand in agreement. Just moments later, they actually found the artefact without even trying. "Mission accomplished," he said, pumping his fist into the air.

The week was up. It was Serah's final night in Yaschas Massif. She wanted to surprise Hope. She invited him to _her_ room instead. There was a knock at the door that night. Serah went to open the door, revealing Hope. He was already in his pajamas. "So what's the surprise?" he asked, looking around the room.

"A nice, relaxing night with me," Serah said and winked. Hope knew what the wink meant and he kissed her right away. He picked her up and she wrapped her legs around him. "Make love to me," she purred in his ear. Hope carried her over to the bed where he set her down gently. "Have you done this before?"

"Maybe once or twice," he said and grinned before helping her out of her nightgown. Her naked body revealed hard, pink nipples. He kissed her neck softly, causing Serah to let out a small moan. He supposed it was her weak spot. He continued from her neck to kiss and nibble on her perky breasts. He could tell that Serah liked it due to the fact that she couldn't seem to keep still.

She sat up to unbutton his shirt and slide off his pants. Hope gently removed her panties. Everything about Hope was gentle and sweet. This moment was perfect. She wouldn't have it any other way.

Serah pushed Hope against the pillows. She sat on top of him, kissing him hungrily. She started kissing his neck and rubbing all over his body. Then she felt his erect penis underneath her. She smiled and got off of him. Then she threw herself back onto the bed, allowing Hope to climb on top of her.

"Ready?" Hope asked. Serah nodded and bit her lip as he put one of his fingers inside her. She was so tight and Hope felt every bit of her wetness. Then Hope added another finger, twirling and twisting both of his fingers inside of her. She moaned softly as he fingered her. Hope was so hard. He wanted her so bad. He wanted to please her, make her scream his name…

He took his fingers out, which were moist from her wetness. She took his fingers and sucked on them, removing evidence of her moisture. Hope gave a small chuckle. "Relax," he said as he slid himself into her. She yelped in pain. She hadn't done this in a while. In over a year. With that inconsiderate asshole, Snow Villiers.

Hope started off slowly, with Serah's legs wrapped around him, thrusting into her body. Serah's moans of satisfaction added to Hope's pleasure. He kissed her with each thrust. He felt their body heats rising and Hope was beginning to sweat.

"Faster," Serah demanded. Hope liked Serah when she was demanding. It made him want her ten times more. He did as she said, picking up his pace gradually. She began digging her fingers into his back. Now she was moaning wildly, whispering dirtiness into Hope's ear in between.

"Serah," Hope purred into her ear in a husky voice.

"I-I-it-it feels so… _good_!" she moaned, throwing her head back some. Hope was making her feel so amazing. She'd never felt so good in her life. Probably because Snow had always used a condom, blocking out some of the pleasure. She was going to cum soon. She could feel it in her core. She grabbed onto the back of Hope's neck, playing in his silver hair that was beginning to stick to his forehead.

Noel got up out of bed. He couldn't sleep anyway. Was anyone else awake? He decided to go to the kitchen to pour himself a glass of water before finding the answer to his question. He walked past Serah's room and heard noises. He didn't want to burst in and look like an idiot, so he pressed his ear to the door.

He heard audible moans through the door, coming from Serah. And the occasional groan he assumed came from Hope. Noel's heart dropped a little. He liked Serah a little, he had to admit. But he was eighteen. She probably never even considered it. They were only three years apart, but Serah looked at him as the little brother she never had.

She probably never considered them even being together. He'd happy when she broke up with Snow. Not just because he had a crush on her, but because Snow was so rough and rash. He obviously hadn't cared about her feelings. Not as much as he should. He resented Snow for that. If it was Noel's job, he'd do damn near anything for her to keep her satisfied.

He removed his ear from the door. He'd heard enough. She wanted Hope, not him. He sighed as he sulked his way to the kitchen for that glass of water.

"Hope!" she screamed. "Please…" She had just came and now Hope did the same, groaning loudly as he did. Serah liked the feeling of his cum inside her. "Can I ride you?"

Hope didn't say a word. He only lay on his back, patiently waiting. Serah climbed on top of him and put Hope's penis inside of her. Hope bit his lip as she bounced up and down on him. He put both hands on his head and let out a groan of relief. He loved this position, especially if it included Serah. As she rode him, he squeezed her breasts. Serah bent down to kiss him. "Yes," she whispered repeatedly with each consecutive bounce.

Serah got off of him and bent herself over for him. In response Hope got behind her, inserting himself in slowly. His hands grasped onto her hips. Then he started fucking her doggy style. Serah liked it a whole lot. She grabbed on the sheets and buried her face in the pillows, drowning out her screams. He thrusted into her faster and faster. Hope felt the walls around his penis tighten. She was having an orgasm. She screamed and howled at the top of her lungs.

Hope had had sex before, but it'd never been quite like this. The pleasure took over his mind like a drug. He didn't care about anything else except satisfying himself and his girlfriend. He loved to hear her scream and moan. Especially when she yelled his name.

"Hope… I-I-It's so good."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yes!"

"Oh, Serah," he said as he came inside her once more. He threw himself back on the bed, slamming onto the pillows. Serah's naked body landed on top of him. They were both out of breath, breathing heavily.

"That was amazing, Hope," she said, kissing him on the lips.

"It was, wasn't it?" Hope said. "Serah?"

"Yes?"

"I want to give you that baby…"


	5. Chapter 5

010 AF

"Serah! You ready?" Noel called from the hallway. He couldn't stop thinking about what he heard last night. He was definitely a little jealous. But Serah could never know how he felt about her. She'd probably laugh it off and tell him he was being silly or something. He couldn't possibly face the embarrassment.

He wondered what it would be like if Serah was _his_ girlfriend. He'd do everything for her. Buy her gifts, satisfy her… Sexually, of course. Noel only had one girlfriend before… Yeul. And she died. They'd had sex a few times, so he wasn't completely inexperienced. He wished that it had been him pleasing her last night instead of Hope.

"We're coming, Noel!" Serah called. She was helping Hope down the hallway with a suitcase. Noel stared at her with a what's-going-on look. "Oh! I completely forgot… Hope's coming with us. I want to go back to New Bodhum. Just for a few days. I'm a little homesick."

"Sure," Noel said, annoyed. Why did Hope have to come? It'd only make him even more jealous than he already was. He supposed he'd just have to deal with it, just to keep Serah content.

"I left Alyssa in charge. That time travel project we're working on… Maybe it'll be finished and she could come and see us," Hope said happily.

005 AF

They arrived in New Bodhum about two years after they supposedly left. It was nighttime. Everything looked pretty much the same. As they walked toward town square, Serah felt a little nervous. She had no idea what to expect. What would everyone say? What would _Snow_ say?

Serah told Hope to wait outside the NORA house. She told him that she wanted his introduction to be a surprise. She and Noel went inside the house. Lebreau and Gadot hugged her, followed by Maqui and Yuj. Snow came from the back of the house complaining about all the noise. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Serah.

"Serah," he said, coming closer to her. He took her hand, but Serah didn't resist. "I'm sorry. I thought about it. And I'll do it if it makes you happy." A small smile formed across his lips.

Serah shook her head. "There's someone else. I have a boyfriend now. It's too late."

"What?" he choked. He immediately shot a look at Noel, who happened to be smiling at the time. "You!" he yelled and ran over to Noel. He punched Noel square in the face, knocking him to the ground. Noel put his hand to his nose, feeling the blood.

"It's not me, you ass!" Noel shouted.

Just then, Hope appeared in the doorway shyly. "Is everything okay? I heard all the noise," Hope said, glancing at Noel's bloody nose with concern.

"Hope?" said Snow, his anger diminishing. "How'd you…"

"I met Serah and Noel five years into the future in Yaschas Massif. There I'm leader of a scientific research group, the Academy. But I agreed to come back here with them instead," Hope explained.

"But if you had all that going for you, why'd you come back here?"

"Well… Um."

"Because we're together, Snow! That's why," Serah said, clearly frustrated.

"What do you _mean_ together?" demanded Snow. "You left me for _Hope_? Are you serious?"

"I was there for her, Snow," hissed Hope, now getting angry. "You weren't. You were out and about trying to be 'the hero.' And I stepped in to take care of her."

Snow had nothing to say to that. He opened his mouth in protest, but no words came out. Serah grabbed Hope by the sleeve, muttering, "Let's go, Hope."

Things got awkward after the "misunderstanding" so Noel stood up, excused himself, and made his way outside. He walked out on the beach aimlessly, wondering what he should do. Should he leave? Serah didn't really need him now. Well, she didn't act like it. He should just leave… Go to some other time to try and find happiness.

Serah let Hope take a quick shower. While she took his, Serah went to the other bathroom to take one as well. She passed Snow on her way to her room and didn't say a word to him. He was unbelievable. He couldn't compare to Hope. Muscularity, yes. But everything else, no. Not to Serah. Not anymore. All the feelings she had for him had vanished.

All she cared about was getting back to Hope. She opened the door to her room and slid inside. Hope was waiting for her. She curled up next to him in the bed and put her head on his chest. "I'm sorry about Snow earlier," Serah apologized. "You know how he can get."

"It's all right. I'm fine," he said and kissed her forehead. "Let's get some sleep… We had a rough day." Then noticing Serah's tiny frown, he added, "Unless you want to… do some things."

"What kind of things?" Serah asked, putting on her best I'm-really-innocent voice.

"The things that will make you scream and claw at my back," he said seductively, pulling her in for a kiss on the lips. The kiss led to stripping, which led to nakedness, which led to passionate and steamy sex.

There was nowhere else that Serah would rather be than with her legs wrapped around Hope, with him thrusting deeper and deeper inside her, causing her to let out moans and yells of pleasure. She loved the feeling of him inside her. It felt amazing. Just as good as the first time they'd had sex. Hope really knew what he was doing. He knew how to please her and he knew how to please her well.

"Oh. For Etro's sake, Hope," she moaned. "Harder!"

"Are you going to cum for me, Serah?" he whispered in her ear. She responded in high pitched moans. Hope groaned. Her insides were so tight… so wet… so perfect. He stared into her beautiful bluish gray eyes as he fucked her harder and harder, faster and faster. Serah didn't seem like the type of girl who'd want it rough.

"I'm cumming," she said before letting out a toe curling scream of satisfaction. Hope thrusted into her body once more, then cum exploded inside of Serah. He pulled out and went to get a towel to clean up their mess.

After the mess was cleaned up, Serah cuddled with Hope, their bare bodies touching. Hope ran his fingers through her hair as they watched TV together. "Can I tell you something?" Serah asked.

"Sure," Hope said, not looking away from the tv. Serah turned to him to look him in the eyes. She brushed a quick kiss on his lips.

"I… I love you, Hope," said Serah, almost regretting that she'd said it in the first place. Of course he didn't love her. It was too soon. Maybe she should've waited a couple more weeks.

To her surprise he said, "I love you too, Serah." He was genuine. Serah could tell.


	6. Chapter 6

005 AF

Serah woke up the next morning with Hope's arms wrapped around her. She turned over and whispered a good morning in Hope's ear. He opened his eyes and smiled. He gave her a kiss and sat up in bed to stretch. Serah did the same. "C'mon, I smell french toast," Serah said, taking Hope's hand.

When they got to the kitchen, Lebreau was pouring glasses of orange juice. She murmured a good morning and gave them both a plate and cup. Serah and Hope joined Yuj and Maqui at the table. When everyone else was seated at the table, Serah noticed Noel was missing. "Did anyone see Noel this morning?" she asked. Everyone shook their heads in response. "I'm gonna go and check his room," Serah said, rising from the table.

She walked past her room and a few doors down to the room where Noel was staying in. She knocked twice, but there was no response. Maybe he was a heavy sleeper. She opened the door to find noel's bed empty. It was made up too. He must not have come back last night. Either that or he snuck away before anyone else woke up.

Serah went out the back door to see if she could find him. She asked around, but nobody had seen him. She looked everywhere, but he was nowhere in sight. Where was he? Why would he just leave without telling someone? Serah marched back to the house, defeated. She wanted to curl up in bed for the rest of the day, but it didn't look like that was going to happen. Not with Snow standing in front of her. "What do you want, Snow?" she asked, obviously irritated.

"I found this… in Noel's room," he said, handing her a piece of paper. _A note_ _can't be anything good_, Serah thought. She opened the folded piece of paper. It read: Serah, you'll be better off without me. Please don't come looking for me. I'll come back when I'm ready.

Serah fell to her knees. She wanted to cry. She wanted to yell at someone. She was overcome with a million emotions. She wanted to know why he left. What reason did he even have to leave in the first place? Was it something she did? She thought about it, but she couldn't think of any good reason. To her relief, Snow walked away. He didn't even ask if Serah was okay. Not that she wanted him to, but still…

Hope helped her up off of the floor. "Snow told us about the note," he said. "I'm sorry." Serah nodded and said that she'd be okay. Well hopefully…

A whole month had passed and there was still no sign of Noel. Serah missed him. She missed his smile and she missed the times where they'd make fun of Snow together. There were so many things they never got a chance to do. She wished they were back on Cocoon. She'd take him to Nautilus. He'd like it there.

Serah sighed. She hadn't really been herself since Noel left. Everyone noticed, especially Hope. Since he was her boyfriend, of course he was concerned. "Serah, will you come to the party on the beach tonight?" he asked, snapping Serah back into reality.

"The party… Right," Serah said. She'd completely forgotten about it. There was gonna be this big party on the beach with food and fireworks, just like in old Bodhum. Serah hesitated.

"I mean, you don't have to go if you're not up to it," Hope said quickly. "We can stay here and watch a movie or something…"

"I'll come," Serah said, smiling. Hope returned the smile and hugged her tightly. "I'll just have to find something cute to wear." Then he left the room. Serah went into the bathroom so that she could shower. Then she felt uneasy and threw up in the toilet. She'd been doing that for the past two weeks or so. Could she be pregnant? It was possible. She and Hope had had mind-blowing sex almost every day.

She wondered what Hope would think. He'd said that he wanted to give her a baby about a month ago, so she was sure he wouldn't be upset. Unless he'd changed his mind. What if he did? _No_, she thought. He wasn't like Snow. He wouldn't leave her. He loved her and she loved him too. She decided to tell him before the night was over.

Lebreau was at the grill when Serah approached her. She smiled at Serah and asked, "Do you want a behemoth burger? They're nice and juicy."

"Sure," Serah said. Lebreau put a burger on a bun and added some brown sauce to the burger. "What's that sauce?"

"Something one of my friends made. Don't worry. It really complements the burger. Trust me."

Serah walked away and took a small bite. Lebreau was right about the sauce. It did wonders for the burger. She ate her burger as she looked around for Hope. She ran into Yuj. "Hey, Yuj! Have you seen Hope around?"

"He's over there talking to Maqui. Grab him. The fireworks are about to start," Yuj said before walking off. Hope worked with Maqui in Lenora's Garage now. They'd gotten surprisingly close. They pretty much built new contraptions and devices all day. Serah could tell that Hope liked his new duty. And six hundred gil a week wasn't a bad salary at all.

As Serah walked toward them, she noticed that it looked like Maqui and Hope were discussing a business deal or something. They immediately ceased the suspicious behavior when Serah reached them. Hope gave her a quick kiss and let her closer to the water, where the fireworks had started. Explosions of pink, yellow, green, and blue took over the night sky.

"Just like in Bodhum with mom," Hope whispered to himself. It saddened Serah that she never got a chance to meet his mother. She wondered if Nora would've liked her. Or if she would've approved of her possible pregnancy. She remembered the last time she saw the fireworks in Bodhum. With Snow. She sighed. That was the past. Hope was her future.

"Are you okay?" Hope asked her suddenly, while looking at the sky.

"Yeah. I'm fine," she assured him. The fireworks stopped about ten minutes later. Hope took her hands in his and looked her deep into her eyes.

"Serah… I love you. Will you marry me?" Hope asked. Serah looked around her. Everyone was staring, anticipating her answer. She gave a small laugh.

"Yes! I'll marry you, Hope," Serah said happily. He put a new engagement necklace around her neck. It was beautiful. The crowd surrounding them started clapping and cheering. Maqui ran up to Hope.

"I told you she'd say yes!" Maqui said ecstatically, jumping in the air.

"You knew about this?" Serah asked.

"_Everyone_ knew," he replied. Serah, Hope, and Maqui burst into laughter.

After the party was over, everyone was tired and retreated into their homes. Everyone that saw her congratulated her and gave her hugs and kisses. Even her students were excited. Snow was sitting on the steps outside the house. "Congratulations," he muttered before Serah went inside. He didn't even look at her. He just stared at the ground.

"Thanks," she said.

"You really love him, huh?"

"Yeah… I do."

"More than you loved me?"

"It doesn't matter now."

"It does, Serah. I need to know."

"Well, I think I do."

"There's a reason I didn't want any kids, Serah… "

"What's your reason?"

Snow stood up and walked toward her, scratching his head. "I couldn't protect you when you became a l'Cie. I almost lost you, Serah. I put so many people's lives in danger. That's how Nora died. I never forgave myself for that. It seems like every time I try to protect people, something goes wrong. I guess I felt that if we had a kid, I might fail to protect the kid and be a failure as a father."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because you didn't give me a chance to explain… You just kicked me out of the room and walked out of my life for good, I guess."

"I'm sorry… I-I didn't know. But that doesn't change anything."

"I know…"


	7. Chapter 7

005 AF

Hope was happy when he found out that Serah might be pregnant. And he was even happier when he knew that she was for sure. Serah was about a month pregnant and the wedding was in about two weeks. Everyone in town was pretty much helping them plan it. Hope didn't care about decorations and stuff. He only cared about making Serah his wife and being a good father to his child.

The wedding planning was starting to become hectic since it was only two weeks away. Lebreau was constantly coming up to her to ask about what Serah preferred on the menu. Serah didn't know.

"What do you mean 'I don't know?' The wedding is in less than two weeks. How about fish? That's simple. Fish with my special onion, herb, and butter soup? And of course, some rolls," Lebreau suggested. "You need to choose something. I can't ask Hope because he told me to choose whatever you wanted."

"Okay, okay. We'll stick with the fish. Happy?" Serah said in an annoyed voice. Everyone was bombarding her with questions and they all expected answers. It was starting to stress her out. Brides shouldn't be this stressed. Not before the wedding. Lebreau didn't ask any more questions and left her room instead. Her face was replaced by Hope's when she picked her head up.

"Are you okay? You seem kind of tense…" he said with genuine concern for her. He hated to see her stressed out. He wanted to try to keep her happy as much as he could. He didn't want to see her unhappy. Serah didn't respond at first. Instead, she buried her face in Hope's shirt. "If you don't want to get married right now, I'll understand. I'll still love you no matter what," Hope said.

"It's not that," Serah said. "It's just that Noel's not here to see the wedding. Not him or Lightning. It's just gonna be hard to get through it without them."

"I understand… What do you want to do?"

"I want to marry you," Serah said and kissed his cheek.

"Do you need some stress relief while we're at it?" Hope said with a small wink. Serah let out a laugh and shook her head yes. Only then did Hope kiss her sweetly, lay her down on the bed, and tell her to relax. He slid off her panties and let them drop to the floor. He got on his knees and grabbed Serah's legs to bring her closer to him so that he could come face to face with her tight, pink pussy.

Serah shivered as he kissed all around her thighs. He could see that she was starting to get a little wet. He slid two of his fingers inside, pushing them in and out of her. She started moaning softly. To make things more interesting, Hope took his fingers out and put his tongue in.

Serah liked that a lot. She almost winced as his tongue made its way inside her. He tasted every bit of wetness and swallowed it. It didn't really have much of a taste. Hope continued, twirling his tongue around in her insides. Serah's moaning got louder, at that point. Hope was enjoying every second of it. They'd never done this before, but according to Serah's moans he must've been doing something right. Hope began to suck on her pink lips.

"Don't stop," cried Serah. She pushed his head down, allowing his tongue to go deeper inside her. Hope twirled his tongue around inside her, with Serah grabbing onto the sheets. Less than a minute later, Serah let out a scream for dear life and white liquid came pouring out of her. Hope had no problem sucking the rest of the fluids out of her.

Hope lay down next to his fiancée and he stared into her beautiful eyes. He ran his fingers through her pink hair and gave her several kisses on her neck. Serah closed her eyes and whispered his name. They ended up making love twice that night.

It was Serah's wedding day. She had never been more nervous. She'd been proposed to before, but she never got to the actual wedding part. She tried taking deep breaths, but that wasn't really working out for her. She looked in the mirror. She had on a long, but simple white dress with a white flower in her hair. She rubbed her stomach. Her bump wasn't very visible at all. Nobody would notice until a month or two.

"You ready?" called Lebreau from outside of her room door. Serah took another deep breath, hoping it'd make her less nervous. Why was she so nervous? Hope would still love her regardless if she made a fool of herself or not. As Lebreau walked her outside, she prayed that she wouldn't trip down the aisle. "You look so beautiful. Don't worry."

Hope was waiting for her at the end of the pier, she noticed as she peeked outside. Everyone in town was already seated in chairs in the sand. Lebreau walked outside to signal the start of the ceremony. Serah heard a flute start to play. Lebreau came back inside to retrieve Serah.

Arm in arm, she and Lebreau walked to the pier toward Hope. Lebreau whispered for her to relax and breathe, so Serah did as she said. All eyes were on her. It was as if there was a giant spotlight on her. It made Serah a little nervous, but she made herself smile so that her teeth wouldn't chatter from nervousness.

She took a look at the crowd. Everyone was there. She saw Gadot, Maqui, Yuj, and other members of NORA sitting in the front rows. She saw everyone. Everyone except for Snow. Not that she cared. Or did she? She shook that thought off. She wasn't going to think of him. Not now. Not right before she became Hope's wife.

Now Serah was face to face with Hope, forced to look into his eyes. He towered over her. He always did, but it seemed more noticeable at that point. He smiled at her.

"In Etro's name, do you accept Serah Farron to become your wife?"

"I do."

"And Serah… Do you accept Hope Estheim to become your husband in Etro's name?"

Serah paused. The nervousness struck her like a tidal wave. She froze. Everyone was waiting on her. It's not that she didn't want to marry Hope… She didn't know what it was exactly. But her mouth just wouldn't move. Hope wasn't smiling anymore, but he wasn't exactly frowning either. Serah could tell he was sad. She could see it in his eyes.

After that whole minute or so of awkwardness and anxiety, Serah found herself able to speak again. "I do," she said. She meant it. Hope smiled again and kissed her. Everyone rose and burst out in claps and cheers and cries.

Serah wrapped her arms around his neck and Hope swept her off of her feet, spinning her around. When he put her down, she caught a glimpse of Snow leaning against the front door of the house. His face was ruddy, almost like he'd been crying. She couldn't possibly be concerned about him right now. It was her wedding day.

Immediately, everyone started dancing and singing all over the beach. They ate the fish meal that Lebreau had prepared, enjoying every bite. Everyone congratulated Hope and Serah until they got sick of it. After dinner, everyone resumed dancing.

Hope grabbed Serah by the waist, pulling her in to dance. "What took you so long?" Hope asked as they walked back to shore. Serah knew what he was talking about. He meant about the agonizing minute of silence.

"I was just so overwhelmed with everything. It took me a while to react. I'm sorry," Serah said.

"It's all right. I'm just relieved you said yes," Hope said, looking into Serah's eyes.

"I need to go to the bathroom. I'll be right back," Serah said, excusing herself. She retreated back into the house. Snow still hadn't come out. He needed to grow up already. He needed to face the fact that she was going to be with Hope whether he liked it or not. She'd tell him off the second she found him.

She found him at the bar, cup in hand. Obviously it wasn't water. She stood in front of him and put her hands on her hips. "What?" he asked, nonchalantly.

"Why didn't you come to the wedding? You need to pull yourself together, Snow. I'm not going to leave Hope for you and me and him are gonna be together whether you like it or not!" Serah said rather loudly. He was pathetic. Drinking to deal with his emotions? Serah didn't approve of it.

Snow didn't say anything. He just stared at her like a mindless idiot. He simply put his cup down and stood up to face her. "Just one last time," Snow said. Serah didn't know what he meant until he cupped her face in his hands and kissed her. After about three seconds, Serah pulled away. "You kissed back…"

** Watch out for the sequel, Lost in Time, starring Noel Kreiss. You'll finally know where he went **


End file.
